Netflix's 'Everything Now' depicts a sexuality landscape without labels

Netflix drama Everything Now is set to be a favourite amongst younger and older generations alike for its hedonistic, nostalgic take on teenage life, from first romances to drug dabbling and house parties.

The show follows Mia (played by Talk to Me star Sophie Wilde), a sixth-form student who returns to school after a stint in an eating disorder recovery clinic. She sets about trying to make up for all the social milestones she feels she’s missed, making a "F**k It Bucket List" of activities to tick off. Sex, partying, drugs — you name it. Debauchery, here she comes.

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'Everything Now' review: Put this brilliant teen show on your bucket list

But Everything Now doesn’t just look closely at the devastation disordered eating can have on someone’s life and identity, not to mention their family and friends; it also has a very specific message about sexuality. The eight-episode series explores various areas of the sexuality spectrum, but the best part is that it’s done in a subtle way, allowing the character’s stories to speak for themselves and for their sexualities to harmoniously exist within these narratives.

Everything Now avoids making sexuality a plot point

Sophie Wilde as Mia. Credit: Netflix / Left Bank

In an interview with Glamour UK, Everything Now’s writer and creator Ripley Parker spoke about the importance of “no one's sexuality becoming plot”.

“I think many, maybe most, of the key romantic relationships portrayed in the show are queer relationships. But at no point does anyone need to come out or assign a label,” she said.

Parker added that this kind of onscreen depiction is an “idealised” version of how sexuality is viewed in society, due to the trauma, prejudice and difficulty that can be attached to navigating sexuality offscreen. However, she stressed it was important for both queer and straight youth to see a portrayal of sexuality that is “just a part of who you are — it doesn’t need to be something that makes your life harder”.

Mia (Wilde) and Carli (TikTok star Jessie Mae Alonzo). Credit: Netflix / Left Bank

We see protagonist Mia navigate dating, sex and relationships with both young men and women, without the show using her bisexuality as “plot”. One entry on her F**k It List is to “lose her virginity”, and she explores potential sexual relationships with people of different genders without the series applying labels or emphasising it as a plot point. The case of whether Mia's first sexual experience happens with a boy or girl is not overdramatised or made into an issue, dodging the often heteronormative definition and attitudes around virginity.

How, as well as whether, different areas of the sexuality spectrum are represented in films and on TV shows is crucial. Organisations such as the GLAAD Media Institute work towards authentic representation on screen, consulting and training creatives in the industry on harmful tropes and how best to portray the LGBTQIA+ community. Raina Deerwater, GLAAD’s entertainment research and analysis manager, echoes and agrees with Everything Now’s mission of telling stories of sexuality that exist outside of high-level drama and trauma.

“Many times, stories paint a character's identity as a source of tragedy,” she tells Mashable. “We encourage more stories to include LGBTQ people, specifically trans people, as people who exist and are living their lives in their own unique way, beyond transition and coming out narratives.” Deerwater stresses the importance of this representation in combating stereotypes and harmful discourse.

"We encourage more stories to include LGBTQ people, specifically trans people, as people who exist and are living their lives in their own unique way, beyond transition and coming out narratives." - Raina Deerwater

Alex Lynam, creator of LGBTQIA+ inclusion consultancy Beyond The Binary, agrees that there can at times be a “common denominator that someone from an marginalised group gets the negative or sad ending [on screen], almost silently discouraging people from being gay or being gay brings negative life journeys.”

Lynam tells Mashable, “When we are sharing stories of authenticity as a queer person, sharing day-to-day storylines, it normalises that queer people are just people too.” They add that the lack of queer onscreen representation while they were growing up made it “harder to hold conversations with people about my sexuality and gender because it was still seen as a taboo or ‘secret’, even though there were many queer performers out there”.

Everything Now explores a range of different sexualities

BFFs: Becca (Lauryn Ajufo), Will (Noah Thomas), and Cam (Harry Cadby). Credit: Netflix / Left Bank

Different sexualities on the spectrum are also explored throughout Everything Now — one of Mia’s friends Will (played perfectly by newcomer Noah Thomas) embarks on a journey of discovering his attraction to others. He questions whether he feels sexual attraction at all, not knowing exactly what “fancying” someone felt like (a brief hint at asexuality). Will then considers whether he needs an emotional bond with a person in order to embark on sexual acts — “I’m starting to realise I need a connection first," he says. "Looks don’t really do it for me on their own.” — which has been defined as demisexuality on the ace spectrum.

These conversations, once again, do not completely define Will’s character arc but merely bring questions to the surface that do a service to the broad range of identities on the sexuality spectrum, and experiences that come with that.

SEE ALSO: How the queer community can embrace the asexual spectrum

Exploring these sexualities normalises “diverse sexual orientations, rather than using them for drama”, according to Matthew James Belfield, head of communications and marketing at the LGBT Foundation. “It underscores the uniqueness of each person's journey and counters past media practices that spread stereotypes and misunderstandings, especially around ace and bi+ identities and sexualities.”

It’s also important that virginity, a tough and sensitive subject for young people and an often unexplored or misunderstood one for queer people, is handled responsibly on shows like Everything Now. As Will grapples with his sexuality, for instance, another member of Mia’s friendship group Cam (played by Harry Cadby) reassures him that his friends don’t care when or if he decides to have sex – offering comfort around a subject that comes with a lot of pressure and expectation, especially if you’re questioning your sexuality.

Lauryn Ajufo as Becca, Niamh McCormack as Alison, Noah Thomas as Will, and Harry Cadby as Cam. Credit: Netflix / Left Bank

Belfield says that seeing teenage sexual milestones on screen that go beyond heteronormativity helps LGBTQIA+ teens feel “seen and validated”, as well as avoiding harmful stereotypes and unhelpful objectification of certain groups, particularly queer women.

“Broadening the scope shows that these ‘first time’ narratives can belong to anyone, not exclusively for cisgender and straight people,” Deerwater explains. “Gen Z is the queerest generation yet and the media has to catch up to them in terms of depicting different narratives from beyond a heterosexual perspective.” She adds that portraying queer virginity experiences can “expand rigid expectations” on people of all ages and genders who are exploring their sexuality.

Today's TV representations of sexuality still aren't without criticism

Thaddea Graham as O in "Sex Education" Credit: Samuel Taylor/Netflix

Of course, not all attempts at representation onscreen are without criticism. The latest (and final) season of Sex Education received backlash for demonising ace character Sarah “O” Owen, played by Thaddea Graham, and limiting scenes she was in.

Asexual activist Yasmin Benoit spoke out shortly after the new season of the fellow British Netflix series aired, stating “disappointment” at the character’s portrayal after having worked as a consultant while the character of O was being written. While it’s positive for an ace character to have a storyline in a major Netflix show, it’s important that it’s done with sensitivity towards labels and demonisation around such characters and their sexualities.

Heartstopper Season 2, for instance, received praise for its portrayal of asexual teen Isaac (Tobie Donovan) and his journey toward determining and embracing his own asexuality Lynam explains that one of the reasons for this is that Isaac’s storyline and sexuality was “fluid and not forced, which created a positive and healthy outlook on what young people can be questioning about their own sexuality”.

Tobie Donovan and Joe Locke as Isaac and Charlie in "Heartstopper." Credit: Netflix / Samuel Dore

“This is a community that has such little representation, and is still at the beginning of its awareness journey,” Benoit tells Mashable. “If people are introduced to asexuality through a character who comes across as cold-hearted and manipulative, it can negatively influence the way people see asexual people — particularly when there are so few examples of asexuality elsewhere.”

SEE ALSO: 'Ace' is the first book of its kind. Here’s why anyone, asexual or not, should read it.

This incident proves the importance of ongoing conversations about sexuality representation on TV and in films, and continuing to look for ways to improve processes in the wider industry.

“TV still needs more queer storytellers, and for them to be elevated and supported by the studios and networks,” Deerwater says. “There is still a lack of stories from underrepresented groups, including disabled queer people, indigenous queer people, queer people living with HIV, the trans community, and queer characters of colour, to name a few."

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She adds that writers and creatives should ensure that these stories and characters are not entrenched in heteronormative narratives. “Shows often still have one LGBTQ character in an ensemble of straight people, when in reality so many queer people have a community and chosen family,” Deerwater says. “We encourage stories to delve into diverse queer narratives and include many LGBTQ characters to show the variance in our lived experience.”

For Benoit, ensuring queer people are involved in the creation of these TV characters and storylines is key — and that their views are taken on board. “There needs to be a diverse range of intersectional voices in the room, to ensure that those stories are told authentically and that the issues that matter are actually being tackled,” she says.

TV shows like "Everything Now" have the power to make meaningful advances forward for many facets of the queer community. Credit: Netflix / Left Bank

“Culture can be a powerful tool for change,” Deerwater adds. “TV and film must reflect the full LGBTQ community, including underrepresented communities, and must show them as fully realised people, not as stereotypes and caricatures.”

TV shows like Everything Now have the power to make meaningful advances forward for many facets of the queer community, by creating a label-free and fluid space for people to explore their sexuality. Long may the conversation and representation continue.

How to watch: Everything Now is now streaming on Netflix.

Everything Now and Mashable's article mentions eating disorders. If you feel like you’d like to talk to someone about your eating behavior, text "NEDA" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected with a trained volunteer or visit the National Eating Disorder Association website for more information.